High frequency power amplifier circuit

ABSTRACT

A module including a bias circuit that generates gate bias voltages by resistance dividers creates a problem in that the values of the resistances constituting the bias circuit must be finely adjusted, and accordingly extra trimming tasks are required. The present invention provides current generators that generate currents varying with desired characteristics responsive to a control voltage, independent of variations in transistor threshold voltages, connects output resistors to parallel transistors in respective stages to form current mirror circuits, and supplies currents from the current generators thereto to drive them, instead of supplying dividing voltages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a multi-stage high-frequency poweramplifier circuit with a plurality of cascaded semiconductor amplifierdevices and technology that is useful when applied to wirelesscommunication devices such as cellular phones incorporating ahigh-frequency power amplifier circuit, and more particularly to ahigh-frequency power amplifier circuit capable of obtaining output withdesired characteristics, independent of variations in semiconductoramplifier device characteristics.

The transmission output stage of car phones, cellular phones, and otherwireless communication devices (mobile communication devices), as shownin FIG. 1, includes a multi-stage high-frequency power amplifier circuitwith cascaded semiconductor amplifier devices Q1, Q2, and Q3 made ofMOSFETs (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors),GaAs-MESFETs (Metal Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors), or otherapplicable kinds of transistors. The high-frequency power amplifiercircuit shown in FIG. 1 generally includes a discrete last-stagesemiconductor amplifier device Q3 (such as an output power MOSFET), andpreceding-stage semiconductor amplifier devices Q1 and Q2 and a biascircuit BIAS that are integrated onto a single semiconductor chip as asemiconductor integrated circuit. The combination of this discretesemiconductor amplifier device part and a semiconductor integratedcircuit including a bias circuit, together with capacitive elements andother circuit elements will be referred to as a high-frequency poweramplifier module or just as a module hereinafter.

In general, a cellular phone system is configured to change its output(transmission power) in different communication environments accordingto power-level command signals from a base station, so as not tointerfere with other cellular phones. For example, a high-frequencypower amplifier module in the transmission output stage of cellularphones adopting the U.S. 900-MHz band standard system or the EuropeanGSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) system is configured sothat the gate bias voltages of the output power MOSFETs Q1 to Q3 arecontrolled by the output voltage Vapc of an Automatic Power Control(APC) to produce the output power required for communication.

Conventionally, the gate bias voltages of the output power MOSFETs aregenerated by using a bias circuit BIAS consisting of resistance dividersas shown in FIG. 1, in which the output voltage Vapc of the APC circuitis divided by the ratios of paired resistances R11 and R12, R21 and R22,and R31 and R32 to generate gate bias voltages Vg1, Vg2, and Vg3 (see,for example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei11(1999)-150483).

Some conventional systems, as shown in FIG. 2, use a bias circuit thatis configured with a plurality of resistances R1 to R4 connected inseries with a MOSFET Qd that functions as a diode, forming a resistivevoltage in which the ratio of the resistance values is adjusted so thatthe maximum output power can be obtained when Vapc is in the highneighborhood of 2 V, generating the gate bias voltages Vg1, Vg2, and Vg3of the output power MOSFETs in each stage (see, for example, UnexaminedJapanese Patent Publication No. 2001-102881).

As described above, all of the conventional gate bias circuits aboveapply bias voltages generated by dividing the output voltage Vapc of theAPC circuit to the gates of the output power MOSFETs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Output power MOSFETs show variations in threshold voltages due tomanufacturing process variations and temperature changes. In addition,the last-stage MOSFET Q3 among the output power MOSFETs, in particular,is often a discrete part. Therefore, the last-stage MOSFET Q3 andpreceding-stage MOSFETs Q1 and Q2 differ in regard to the variations inthe threshold voltage. More specifically, the gate voltage-drain currentcharacteristics of the output power MOSFETs are different from eachother.

In such a high-frequency power amplifier module configured with outputpower MOSFETs having different variations in their threshold voltages,if a gate bias voltage that is generated by dividing the output voltageVapc of the APC circuit according to the ratio of resistances is appliedto the gate terminals of the output power MOSFETs, the outputcharacteristic of the high-frequency power amplifier circuit may deviategreatly from a desired characteristic. As a result, a module with a biascircuit that generates gate bias voltage by dividing resistancesrequires fine tuning of the resistance values making up the biascircuit; this obviously creates a problem in that extra trimming tasksor trimming resistors are required.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide ahigh-frequency power amplifier circuit capable of obtaining desiredcharacteristics without trimming the values of resistors making up thebias circuit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a high-frequencypower amplifier circuit with better output controllability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a high-frequencypower amplifier circuit capable of efficiently obtaining higher outputwith lower power consumption.

The aforementioned and other objects and new features of the presentinvention will become clear from the description in this specificationwhen read with reference to the attached drawings.

The outline of a typical mode of practicing the invention disclosedherein will be described below.

In a multi-stage high-frequency power amplifier circuit with a pluralityof cascaded output semiconductor amplifier devices Q1, Q2, and Q3, theinvention typically provides semiconductor amplifier devices Q11, Q12,and Q13 connected to the plurality of output semiconductor amplifierdevices to form current mirror circuits respectively, causing electriccurrents I11, I12, and I13 changing with given characteristics accordingto control voltage to flow into the semiconductor amplifier devices anddriving the plurality of output semiconductor amplifier devices with thecurrents.

The method described above drives the output semiconductor amplifierdevices with currents having given characteristics, thereby making itpossible to obtain a high-frequency power amplifier circuit with outputcharacteristics not sensitive to possible variations in the thresholdvoltages and other characteristics of the output semiconductor amplifierdevices.

The semiconductor amplifier devices are preferably field effecttransistors, and the given characteristics are their gate voltage-draincurrent characteristics. Since the drain current of a field effecttransistor is proportional to the square of the gate voltage, thecontrol voltage can reduce the rate of change of the output in thevicinity of the threshold voltage of the field effect transistor andincrease the rate of change of the output by increasing itself, therebymaking it possible to achieve higher output controllability and largeroutput power.

According to another aspect of the invention disclosed herein, in ahigh-frequency power amplifier circuit having a multi-stage outputcircuit with a plurality of cascaded semiconductor amplifier devices Q1,Q2, and Q3 and a bias circuit that drives the semiconductor amplifierdevices responsive to a control voltage, the invention providessemiconductor amplifier devices Q11, Q12, and Q13 that are connected tothe plurality of output semiconductor amplifier devices so as to formcurrent mirror circuits; the bias circuit has a voltage-to-currentconverter 10, a first resistance R1 that converts currents I1 and I3supplied from the voltage-to-current converter, a first constant-currentsource 31, and a first semiconductor amplifier device Q32 connected inseries thereto; also included is a control voltage generator 30 thatgenerates a voltage equal to the threshold voltage of the firstsemiconductor amplifier device; a second semiconductor amplifier deviceQ21 (Q31) generates current according to a combination of the voltagegenerated by the control voltage generator and the voltage converted bythe first resistance; and currents I11, I12, and I13 with the samecharacteristic as that of current I21 flowing through the secondsemiconductor amplifier device are passed through the semiconductoramplifier devices connected to the plurality of output semiconductoramplifier devices in pair respectively so as to form the current mirrorcircuits to drive the plurality of output semiconductor amplifierdevices.

Preferably, the control voltage generator has a voltage follower 33including a first differential circuit that receives a voltage equal tothe threshold voltage of the first semiconductor amplifier device; thefirst resistance R1 is connected to the output terminal of the voltagefollower; and currents I1 and I3 fed from the voltage-to-currentconverter via the first resistance are caused to flow through thevoltage follower. This enables the voltage follower, which has smalloutput impedance, to sink sufficient currents I1 and I3 supplied fromthe voltage-to-current converter and generate a voltage proportional tothe currents I1 and I3 supplied from the voltage-to-current converterthrough the first resistance to be applied to the control terminal ofthe second semiconductor amplifier device to produce current.

More preferably, second constant-current sources 21 a and 21 c that areconnected to the control terminals of the second semiconductor amplifierdevices and sink current supplied from the voltage-to-current converterare provided. This can produce an initial control voltage at which thecurrent passing through the second semiconductor amplifier devicesstarts to change, thereby making it easier to obtain a desired currentcharacteristic.

The first constant-current source 31 is configured to include a seconddifferential circuit 312 receiving a constant voltage as an input from aband gap reference circuit 311 that generates a constant voltage and athird semiconductor amplifier device Q30 that carries constant currentfrom the output of the second differential circuit. This can make thecurrent characteristic of the first output semiconductor amplifierdevice constant regardless of variations in the power source voltage.

In addition, the second differential circuit 312 has its output fed backto the other input through a circuit including an amplifier device Q44and a second resistance R4. This feedback causes the second differentialcircuit to output a voltage Vc1 proportional to the constant voltageVref from the output terminal. The third semiconductor amplifier deviceQ30 forms a current mirror with the amplifier device Q44 to pass acurrent responsive to the value of the second resistance R4 as aconstant current I4. The second resistance R4 is constituted by anexternal device. Since an external device can be provided with higheraccuracy than a device integrated on a chip, using it can improveoperation accuracy of the circuit.

In addition, the second constant-current source 21 a (21 c) isconfigured to include a third differential circuit 321 that receives aconstant voltage (Vref) as an input from the band gap reference circuit311, which generates a constant voltage with little dependecy on thepower source voltage, and a fourth semiconductor amplifier device Q31that carries constant current responsive to the output Vc2 of the thirddifferential circuit. This makes it possible to provide the first outputsemiconductor amplifier device with a constant current characteristicindependent of variations in the power source voltage.

The output of the third differential circuit 321 is fed back to theother input via a circuit including an amplifier device Q45 and a thirdresistance R5. This feedback causes the third differential circuit tooutput a voltage Vc2 proportional to the constant voltage Vref from theoutput terminal. The fourth semiconductor amplifier device Q31constitutes a current mirror with the amplifier device Q45 and isconfigured to pass current responsive to the value of the thirdresistance R5 as a constant current I5a (I5c); the third resistance R5is formed integrally with the first to fourth semiconductor amplifierdevices in the same semiconductor chip. When the output currents I1 andI3 vary due to manufacturing process variations in the value of theresistance R2 provided in the voltage-to-current converter 10, thisconfiguration causes the same variation in the value of the thirdresistance R5 as in the resistance R2 in the voltage-to-currentconverter, which causes a current I5a (I5c) to change, thereby enablingthe changes in the output currents I1 and I3 to be canceled.

Furthermore, the first resistance, the second semiconductor amplifierdevice, and the second current source are provided for each of theplurality of the output semiconductor amplifier devices; the resistancevalue of the first resistance and the current value of the secondcurrent source are set to mutually differing values. This enablesseparate control with desired characteristics of the plurality of outputsemiconductor amplifier devices, thereby making it possible to achieve ahigh-frequency power amplifier circuit with better outputcontrollability and capable of efficiently obtaining higher output withlower power consumption.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a conventionalmulti-stage high-frequency power amplifier circuit;

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing another example of a bias circuitprovided in a conventional high-frequency power amplifier circuit;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of a high-frequencypower amplifier circuit according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a graph showing relations between a control voltage Vapc in abias circuit and a gate voltage of a bias-current generating MOSFET inthe high-frequency power amplifier circuit according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a graph showing relations between a control voltage Vapc inthe bias circuit and a drain current of the bias-current generatingMOSFET in the high-frequency power amplifier circuit according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a specific example of avoltage-to-current converter that converts a control voltage Vapc to acurrent supplied to the bias circuit;

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a specific example of a constantvoltage circuit that generates a constant voltage independent of a powersource voltage;

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing a specific example of a constantvoltage circuit that generates a constant voltage that cancelsvariations in current output from the voltage-to-current converter;

FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram showing a part of a cellular phoneincluding the high-frequency power amplifier circuit shown in FIG. 3;and

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the entire structure of a cellularphone using the high-frequency power amplifier circuit according to theembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferable embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the attached drawings below. Although the followingdescription will use a field effect transistor (FET) as an example of asemiconductor amplifier device, the semiconductor amplifier device isnot limited to a field effect transistor; it may be a bipolartransistor, hetero-junction bipolar transistor (HBT),high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT), or another applicable kind oftransistor; a semiconductor substrate forming a transistor is notlimited to a silicon substrate; it may also be a silicon-germanium orgallium-arsenic substrate, or one made of another applicable material.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a high-frequency power amplifier circuitaccording to the present invention. In FIG. 3, Q1, Q2, and Q3 indicateoutput power MOSFETs used as output transistors; these output powerMOSFETs Q1, Q2, and Q3 are interconnected so that the drain terminal ofthe preceding-stage FET is connected to the gate terminal of thenext-stage FET via capacitive elements C1 and C2. The gate terminal ofthe first-stage output power MOSFET Q1 receives a radio-frequency signalRFin via a capacitive element C0; the drain terminal of the last-stageoutput power MOSFET Q3 is connected to an output terminal OUT via acapacitive element C3, eliminates the direct-current components of theradio-frequency signal Rfin, amplifies only the alternate-currentcomponents, and outputs the resultant signal. The output power at thistime is controlled by the bias circuit described below.

This embodiment provides MOSFETs Q11, Q12, and Q13 paired in parallelwith the output power MOSFETs Q1, Q2, and Q3, their drains beingconnected to the gates of the output power MOSFETs Q1, Q2, and Q3respectively to provide a diode function; the gates of MOSFETs Q11, Q12,and Q13 are connected with the gates of the output power MOSFETs Q1, Q2,and Q3, thereby forming current mirror circuits.

In the high-frequency power amplifier circuit shown in FIG. 3, thelast-stage output power MOSFET Q3 and MOSFET Q13 forming a currentmirror circuit with Q3 are formed onto a single semiconductor chip as adiscrete part; the preceding-stage output power MOSFETs Q1 and Q2 andMOSFETs Q11 and Q12 paired with them respectively to form current mirrorcircuits, and a bias circuit that feeds bias current to MOSFETs Q11 toQ13 are formed on another single semiconductor chip as a semiconductorintegrated circuit. The capacitive elements C0, C1, C2, and C3 arediscrete parts, connected to the semiconductor integrated circuitincluding the bias circuit as external devices.

The bias circuit includes a voltage-to-current converter 10 that outputscurrents I1 and I3 proportional to a control voltage Vapc; currentgenerators 20A, 20B, and 20C that generate currents with desiredcharacteristics little depencency on thresholds, based on the currentsI1 and I3, and feed the currents to the MOSFETs Q11, Q12, and Q13 forforming the current mirror circuits; and a gate voltage control circuit30 that generates a bias voltage for these current generators 20A, 20B,and 20C and causes the current generators 20A, 20B, and 20C to outputcurrents with given characteristics.

The current generators 20A and 20C have the same circuit configuration.Although not limited to this, this embodiment has a structure in whichthe current generator 20B that generates current I12 fed to the MOSFETQ12 connected to the second-stage output power MOSFET Q2 to form acurrent mirror circuit includes a MOSFET Q20 connected to an outputMOSFET Q22 of the current generator 20A to form a current mirrorcircuit, and the MOSFET Q20 generates current I12 having the samecharacteristic as that of the current I11 fed from the current generator20A to the MOSFET Q11. The ratio of currents I11 and I12 can be adjustedby changing the size ratio of MOSFETs Q22 and Q20.

The gate voltage control circuit 30 includes a constant-current source31; a MOSFET Q32 connected to the constant-current source 31 in series;and a differential amplifier 33 that receives a drain voltage of theMOSFET Q32 to behave as a voltage follower. The MOSFET Q32 with its gateand drain connected to function as a diode outputs a voltage equal tothe threshold voltage Vgs1 from the drain terminal to the differentialamplifier 33; the differential amplifier 33 outputs a voltage at thesame level as that of the input voltage, or at the same level as that ofthe threshold voltage Vgs1 of the MOSFET Q32.

The current generator 20A includes a source-follower MOSFET Q21; aresistance R1 inserted between the gate terminal of the MOSFET Q21 andthe output terminal of the differential amplifier 33 in the gate voltagecontrol circuit 30; a constant-current source 21 a that is connectedbetween the gate terminal of the MOSFET Q21 and ground and passesconstant current I5a; a MOSFET Q22 inserted in series between the drainterminal of the MOSFET Q21 and a power source voltage terminal Vdd; anda MOSFET Q23 with the gate terminal connected to the gate of the MOSFETQ22 to form a current mirror circuit.

The termination of the wiring for supplying current I1 responsive to thecontrol voltage Vapc output from the voltage-to-current converter 10 islinked to a connection node n1 of the resistance R1 and the gateterminal of the MOSFET Q21. This causes the current I1 from thevoltage-to-current converter 10 to be distributed to theconstant-current source 21 a and the output terminal of the differentialamplifier 33 if I1 is larger than I5a (I1>I5a), and to be fed all to theconstant-current source 21 a if I1 is smaller than I5a (I1<I5a). If I1is smaller than I5a (I1<I5a), current with a value equal to I5a−I1 flowsfrom the output terminal of the differential amplifier 33 toward theconstant-current source 21 a via the resistance R1.

The operations of the current generator 20A will be described below.

First, suppose the current generator 20 a without the constant-currentsource 21 a. Current I1 from the voltage-to-current converter 10 flowsthrough the resistance R1 and the output terminal of the differentialamplifier 33 into the differential amplifier. The output voltage of thedifferential amplifier 33 is at the same level of that of the thresholdvoltage Vgs1 of the MOSFET Q32 as described above. Therefore, the gatevoltage VG2 is higher than the output voltage Vgs1 of the differentialamplifier 33 by R1·I1, or Vgs1+R1·I1. The current I1 fed from thevoltage-to-current converter is proportional to the control voltage Vapcas described above.

Therefore, the gate voltage VG2 of the MOSFET Q21 varies almost linearlywith the control voltage Vapc, as indicated by line A shown in FIG. 4.Then, the current I21 flowing through the MOSFET Q21 varies according tothe drain current characteristic of the MOSFET responsive to the controlvoltage Vapc, as indicated by curve a shown in FIG. 5. Since the MOSFETsQ32 and Q21 are formed on a single semiconductor chip, the amounts ofvariation in their threshold voltages are the same. Specifically, as thethreshold voltage of Q32 increases, the threshold voltage of Q21increases by the same amount; as the threshold voltage of Q32 decreases,the threshold voltage of Q21 also decreases by the same amount.

As a result, the current I21 flowing into the MOSFET Q21 varies with agiven characteristic regardless of the variations in the thresholdvoltage. Then the current 121 is passed through two current mirrorcircuits formed by the pairs of MOSFETs Q22 and Q23 and MOSFETs Q11 andQ1 to the output power MOSFET Q1. Therefore, the output power MOSFET Q1carries a current with the same characteristic as the drain currentcharacteristic of the MOSFET Q21. More specifically, even if thethreshold voltage of the MOSFET Q1 deviates from a desired value due tomanufacturing process variations and temperature changes, an outputcharacteristic independent thereof can be obtained.

On the other hand, considering a case in which the constant-currentsource 21 a is provided and current I5a flows therein, since the currentI5a reduces a current flowing from the voltage-to-current converter 10into the differential amplifier 33 via the resistance R1, the gatevoltage VG2 of MOSFET Q21 is Vgs1+R1·I1−R1·I5a. Specifically, when theconstant-current source 21 a is provided, the gate voltage VG2 of theMOSFET Q21 can be plotted by line B in FIG. 4, which is line A shifteddownward by R1·I5a.

The current I5a flowing into the constant-current source 21 a is keptconstant regardless of the control voltage Vapc. The current I1 fed fromthe voltage-to-current converter 10 is proportional to the controlvoltage Vapc. Therefore, the slope of line B is the same as that of lineA. This causes the current I21 flowing through the MOSFET Q21 variesresponsive to the control voltage Vapc along curve b in FIG. 5. Theslopes of lines A and B shown in FIG. 4 can be adjusted by the value ofthe resistance R1, and can be reduced by reducing the value of theresistance R1, thus the controllability of the output power MOSFETs Q1to Q3 by a control voltage Vapc can be improved.

The current generator 20C, as is the case with the current generator20A, includes a source-follower MOSFET Q31; a resistance R3 insertedbetween the gate terminal of the MOSFET Q31 and the output terminal ofthe differential amplifier 33 in the gate voltage control circuit 30; aconstant-current source 21 c that is connected between the gate terminalof the MOSFET Q31 and ground and passes a constant current I5c; a MOSFETQ32 inserted between the drain terminal of the MOSFET Q31 and the powersource voltage terminal Vdd in series; and a MOSFET Q33 with the gateterminal connected to the gate terminal of the MOSFET Q32 to form acurrent mirror circuit. The values of a current I5c flowing through theconstant-current source 21 c and the resistance R3 are set to valuesdifferent from the values of a current I5a flowing through theconstant-current source 21 a in the current generator 20A and theresistance R1.

This causes the gate voltage VG3 of the MOSFET Q31 varies according toline C in FIG. 4, for example. As a result, the drain current, or thebias current I13 flowing in the current mirror circuit formed by thepair of MOSFETs Q13 and Q3 has a characteristic indicated by curve c inFIG. 5. Optimal setting of the values of the current I5c flowing throughthe constant-current source 21 c in the current generator 20B and theresistance R3, and the values of the current I5a flowing through theconstant-current source 21 a in the current generator 20A and theresistance R1 makes it possible to obtain larger output with a smalleroperating current.

The bias circuit according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 configuresthe current generator 20B that generates a bias current for thesecond-stage output MOSFET Q2 only with the MOSFET Q20 connected to theMOSFET Q22 in the current generator 20A to form a current mirror, but itis also possible to configure the current generator 20B in the same wayas with the current generator 20A and appropriately set the values of acurrent flowing through a current source equivalent to theconstant-current source 21 a and a resistance equivalent to theresistance R1 according to the output MOSFETs Q1 to Q3 used therein,thereby obtaining a desired characteristic for the entire module.

FIG. 6 shows a specific example of the voltage-to-current converter 10that generates currents I1 and I3 fed to the current generators 20A and20C based on a control voltage Vapc.

The voltage-to-current converter 10 of this embodiment includes adifferential amplifier 11 configured with a CMOS differential amplifiercircuit that receives a control voltage Vapc as an input; MOSFETs Q41,Q42, and Q43 with the gate terminals to which a potential at theinverting output node of the differential amplifier 11 is applied; and aresistance R2 that is connected to the MOSFET Q41 in series: in which apotential at the connection node of the MOSFET Q41 and the resistance R2is fed back to the other input terminal of the differential amplifier11, whereby a drain current proportional to the input voltage Vapc isfed to each of the MOSFETs Q42 and Q43. The value of the drain currentto the MOSFETs Q42 and Q43 can be set arbitrarily according to the sizeratio (gate width W ratio) of the MOSFETs Q41 and Q42 and the value ofthe resistance R2 and the size ratio of the MOSFETs Q41 and Q43 and thevalue of the resistance R2, which is output as currents I1 and I3 fed tothe current generators 20A and 20C respectively.

FIG. 7 shows a specific example of a constant-current circuit as theconstant-current source 31 that constitutes the gate voltage controlcircuit 30. The constant-current source 31 of this embodiment includes aband gap reference circuit 311 that generates a reference voltage Vrefwith little dependency on the power source; a differential circuit 312receives a reference voltage Vref from the band gap reference circuit311 as an input at one of its input terminals; a MOSFET Q44 thatreceives the output of the differential circuit 312 at the gateterminal; a resistance R4 inserted between the MOSFET Q44 and ground;and MOSFET Q30 that receives the output voltage Vc1 of the differentialcircuit 312 at the gate terminal: in which feedback is carried out fromthe point of interconnection of the MOSFET Q44 and the resistance R4 tothe other input terminal of the differential circuit 312.

In the constant-current source 31 shown in FIG. 7, the output of thedifferential circuit 312 is fed back to the other input terminal thereofthrough a circuit including the MOSFET Q4 and the resistance R4. Thismakes it possible to obtain a constant voltage Vc1 responsive to thevalue of the resistance 4 from the output terminal of the differentialcircuit 312. Since the constant voltage Vc1 is also supplied to the gateof the MOSFET Q30, the MOSFET Q30 forms a current mirror in combinationwith the MOSFET Q44. Therefore, the MOSFET Q30 passes a currentresponsive to the value of the resistance R2 as a current I4. Thisembodiment uses an external resistive element as the resistance R2. Thisprovides a configuration capable of outputting a current I4 with higheraccuracy than obtainable with a resistance formed on the chip.

FIG. 8 shows a specific example of a constant-current circuit as theconstant-current source 21 a (21 c) that constitutes the currentgenerator 20A (20C). The constant-current source 21 a (21 c) of thisembodiment includes a differential circuit 321 that receives a referencevoltage Vref output from a band gap reference circuit 311 shared withthe constant-current source 31 as an input at one of the inputterminals; a MOSFET Q45 that receives the output of the differentialcircuit 321; a resistance R5 inserted between the MOSFET Q45 and ground;a MOSFET Q31 that receives the output voltage Vc2 of the differentialcircuit 321 at the gate terminal; a MOSFET Q32 that is connected to theMOSFET Q31 in series; and a MOSFET Q33 that is connected to the Q32 toform a current mirror: in which feedback is carried out from the pointof interconnection of the MOSFET Q45 and the resistance R5 to the otherinput terminal of the differential circuit 312.

In the constant-current circuit 21 a (21 c) shown in FIG. 8, the outputof the differential circuit 321 is fed back to the input terminal via acircuit including the MOSFET Q45 and the resistance R5. This makes itpossible to obtain a constant voltage Vc2 responsive to the value of theresistance R5 from the output terminal of the differential circuit 321.Since the constant voltage Vc2 is also supplied to the gate terminal ofthe MOSFET Q31 that constitutes a current mirror in combination with theMOSFET Q45, the current responsive to the value of the resistance R5flows through MOSFET Q31. The circuit is configured so that the draincurrent flowing in the MOSFET Q31 is copied by MOSFETs Q32 and Q33 thatform a current mirror circuit in pair and a constant current I5a (I5c)flows through the MOSFET Q33.

Unlike the constant-current source 31 that passes the constant currentI4 shown in FIG. 7, the constant-current source of this embodimentemploys a resistance formed on the chip as the resistance R5, ratherthan an external device. When the output currents I1 and I3 change dueto manufacturing process variations of the resistance R2 provided in thevoltage-to-current converter 10 shown in FIG. 6, this configurationcauses the same variation in the value of the resistance R5 thatconstitutes the constant-current source 21 a (21 c) shown in FIG. 8 asin the resistance R2, which causes an output current I5a to change,thereby enabling the changes in the output current I1 and I3 fed fromthe voltage-to-current converter 10 to be cancelled.

The differential circuits 312 and 321, although not limited to thisconfiguration, include a pair of differential transistors Qp1 and Qp2,current mirror transistors Qc1 and Qc2 that constitute the load circuitsthereof, and a constant current device I.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a portion of a cellular phoneincorporating the high-frequency power amplifier circuit shown in FIG.3.

In this cellular phone, as shown in FIG. 9, an RF transmission signalgenerated by oscillating operations of a modulation oscillator (VCO) 70is input to the input terminal (Pin) of a high-frequency power amplifiermodule 1. The RF transmission signal is amplified in the high-frequencypower amplifier module 1 and output from the output terminal (Pout),then transmitted through a power detector 71 and transmission filter 72to an antenna 73, and transmitted as a radio wave therefrom.

On the other hand, an RF receive signal is subject to signal processingin a receiver circuit 80. The receiver circuit 80 outputs a receivedsignal strength indication signal SRI, which is converted to a digitalsignal in an A/D converter 81 and supplied to a control logic 82. Thecontrol logic 82 outputs a power-level command signal SPL, which issupplied to a control logic circuit 84 in an output level controller 83.The control logic circuit 84 processes the received power-level commandsignal SPL to generate a control code, and the generated control code isconverted to an analog signal in a D/A converter 85, which is suppliedto the automatic power control (APC) circuit 74 as a power level commandvoltage VPL. The APC circuit 74 forms a power control signal Vapcresponsive to the power level command voltage VPL and supplies it to thehigh-frequency power amplifier module 1, which drives an outputtransistor in response to this signal. Reference numeral 90 indicates abattery that supplies a power source voltage Vdd to the high-frequencypower amplifier module 1.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the entire structure of a cellularphone using the high-frequency power amplifier circuit of theembodiment.

The cellular phone of this embodiment includes a liquid crystal panel200 as a display unit; an antenna 321 for transmitting and receivingsignals; a voice output speaker 322; a voice input microphone 323; aliquid crystal control deriver 310 that drives the liquid crystal panel200 to provide a display; an audio interface 330 that inputs and outputssignal for the speaker 322 and the voice input microphone 323; ahigh-frequency interface 340 that makes a GSM-system cellular phonecommunication via the antenna 321; a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 351that performs signal processing of voice signals and transmitting andreceiving signals; an Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC)352 that provides custom functions (user logic); a system controller 353including a micro processor or micro computer that controls the entiresystem including display control; a memory unit 360 for storing data andprograms; an oscillator (OSC) 370; and other components. The DSP 351,ASIC 352, and micro computer 353 as a system controller constitute aso-called base band unit 350. The high-frequency power amplifier circuitof the embodiment above is employed in the transmission output unit ofthe high-frequency interface 340.

Although the invention has been described above in its preferredembodiments, it is needless to say that the invention is not limited tothe specific embodiments described above and various changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Forexample, the embodiments use three-stage output transistors, but itallows use of two-stage or four- or-more-stage structure. In addition,although it has been described that the last-stage output transistor Q3and the transistor Q3 connected thereto to form a current mirror circuitare formed in a discrete chip, they may be formed together with theother output transistors Q1 and Q2 in the same chip as the one with thebias circuit, or in contrast, the output transistor Q1 and the currentmirror transistor Q11 or the output transistor Q2 and the current mirrortransistor Q12 may also be formed in a discrete chip.

Although the invention made by the inventors has been described abovemainly in relation to a high-frequency power amplifier circuit appliedin wireless communication devices, the invention is not limited to thisfield, but may be widely applied to multi-stage amplifier circuits witha plurality of cascaded semiconductor amplifier devices and systemsincluding such circuits.

The outline of a typical mode of practicing the invention disclosedherein will be described below.

Specifically, since the output transistors are driven with currentshaving desired characteristics responsive to a control voltage, it ispossible to obtain a high-frequency power amplifier circuit with outputcharacteristics not sensitive to possible variations in the thresholdvoltages of the output transistors. In addition, driving an outputtransistor at each stage with a separate bias current makes it possibleto achieve a high-frequency power amplifier circuit with better outputcontrollability and capable of efficiently obtaining higher output withlower power consumption.

What is claimed is:
 1. A high-frequency power amplifier circuitcomprising: an output circuit having a plurality of cascadedsemiconductor power devices; semiconductor devices that are arranged soas to form current mirror circuits with the plurality of semiconductorpower devices; and a bias circuit that biases the semiconductor devicesaccording to a control voltage, wherein the bias circuit includes avoltage-to-current converter that converts a control voltage to current;a first resistance for converting current supplied from thevoltage-to-current converter to a voltage; a first current source; afirst semiconductor device connected to the first current source inseries; a control voltage generator that generates a voltage accordingto the threshold voltage of the first semiconductor device, and a secondsemiconductor device that generates current responsive to thecombination of a voltage generated in the control voltage generator anda voltage converted by the first resistance, wherein a current with acharacteristic responsive to current flowing into the secondsemiconductor device is supplied to the semiconductor devices.
 2. Thehigh-frequency power amplifier circuit according to claim 1 wherein thecontrol voltage generator has a voltage follower that receives a voltageaccording to the threshold voltage of the first semiconductor device,and the output terminal of the voltage follower is connected to thefirst resistance and is arranged to receive current supplied from thevoltage-to-current converter via the first resistance.
 3. Thehigh-frequency power amplifier circuit according to claim 2, furthercomprising a second current source that is connected to the controlterminal of the second semiconductor device and sinks current suppliedfrom the voltage-to-current converter.
 4. The high-frequency poweramplifier circuit according to claim 3, wherein the first current sourcehas a differential circuit that receives constant voltage from aconstant-voltage circuit as an input and a third semiconductor devicethat passes a constant current according to the output voltage of thedifferential circuit.
 5. The high-frequency power amplifier circuitaccording to claim 4, wherein the differential circuit has an outputconnected to the gate terminal of a fourth semiconductor device arrangedso as to form a current mirror circuit with the third semiconductordevice, the second resistance is connected to the fourth semiconductordevice in series, the differential circuit outputs voltage proportionalto the constant voltage when a potential at the point of interconnectionof the fourth semiconductor device and the second resistance is fed backto the input terminal of the differential circuit, the thirdsemiconductor device is driven by the voltage output from thedifferential circuit to carry constant current, and the secondresistance is an external device.
 6. The high-frequency amplifiercircuit according to claim 5, wherein the second current source has asecond differential circuit that receives a constant voltage from theconstant-voltage circuit as an input and a fifth semiconductor devicethat supplies constant current according to the output of the seconddifferential circuit.
 7. The high-frequency amplifier circuit accordingto claim 6, wherein the second differential circuit has an outputconnected to a gate terminal of a sixth semiconductor device that isarranged so as to form a current mirror circuit with the fifthsemiconductor device; a third resistance is connected to the sixthsemiconductor device in series, the second differential circuit outputsa voltage proportional to the constant voltage when a potential at thepoint of interconnection of the sixth semiconductor device and the thirdresistance is fed back to the input terminal of the second differentialcircuit, the fifth semiconductor device is driven by the voltage outputfrom the second differential circuit to carry constant current, and thethird resistance and the first to sixth semiconductor devices are formedon a semiconductor chip.
 8. The high-frequency power amplifier circuitaccording to claim 7, wherein the first resistance, the secondsemiconductor device, and the second current source are providedcorresponding to each of the plurality of the semiconductor powerdevices, a resistance value of the first resistance providedcorresponding to each of the plurality of the semiconductor powerdevices and a current value of the second current source providedcorresponding to each of the plurality of the semiconductor powerdevices are set to mutually differing values.
 9. A high-frequency poweramplifier circuit device comprising: a first power transistor having aninput terminal, a first terminal and a second terminal, and formed on asemiconductor chip; a first capacitor which has a first terminal and asecond terminal coupled to the input terminal of the first powertransistor, and via which a high frequency input signal to be amplifiedis supplied to the input terminal of the first power transistor; a biascircuit including a first transistor which has an input terminal, afirst terminal and a second terminal and which is arranged so as to forma current mirror circuit with the first power transistor, and a firstcircuit receiving a control signal and providing to the first transistora current signal according to the control signal; a second powertransistor having an input terminal, a first terminal, and a secondterminal and a second capacitor coupled between the first terminal ofthe first power transistor and the input terminal of the second powertransistor, wherein a signal based on an output signal from the firstterminal of the first power transistor is provided to the input terminalof the second power transistor via the second capacitor, wherein thebias circuit includes a second transistor which has an input terminal, afirst terminal and a second terminal and which is adapted to operate asa diode by coupling the input terminal with the first terminal, and asecond circuit receiving the control signal and providing a currentsignal according to the control signal to the second transistor, whereinthe second power transistor is biased by the bias circuit so that acurrent flowing in the second power transistor is dependent on a currentflowing in the second transistor.
 10. A high-frequency power amplifiercircuit device according to claim 9, wherein each of the firsttransistor and the second transistor is a field-effect transistor,wherein the current signal of the first circuit is provided to the firstterminal of the first transistor and the current signal of the secondcircuit is provided to the first terminal of the second translator. 11.A high-frequency power amplifier circuit device according to claim 10,wherein the input terminal of the first power transistor is coupled tothe input terminal of the first transistor of the bias circuit and theinput terminal of the second power transistor is coupled to the inputterminal of the second transistor of the bias circuit.
 12. Ahigh-frequency power amplifier circuit device according to claim 10,wherein each of the first power transistor end the second powertransistor is a field-effect transistor.
 13. A high-frequency poweramplifier circuit device formed on a single semiconductor chip,comprising: a first semiconductor power transistor; a first capacitorwhich is coupled to the first semiconductor power transistor and viawhich a high frequency signal to be amplified is inputted to the firstsemiconductor power transistor, a first semiconductor transistor that isarranged so as to form a current mirror circuit with the firstsemiconductor power transistor; and a first bias circuit providing acurrent according to a control voltage to the first semiconductortransistor, wherein the first bias circuit includes: a first circuitgenerating a current signal according to the control voltage; a firstcurrent source; a second semiconductor transistor adapted to generate afirst voltage according to a threshold voltage of the secondsemiconductor transistor by connecting the second semiconductortransistor to the first current source in series; a voltage followercircuit having an input terminal arranged to receive the first voltageand an output terminal; and a second circuit having an input terminalwhich is coupled to the output terminal of the voltage follower circuitand to which the current signal is supplied from the first circuit, andan output terminal, and generating the current to be provided to thefirst semiconductor transistor.
 14. A high-frequency power amplifiercircuit device according to claim 13, further comprising acurrent-voltage converter circuit coupled between the output of thevoltage follower circuit and the input terminal of the second circuit.15. A high-frequency power amplifier circuit device according to claim14, wherein the second circuit includes a voltage-current converterwhich converts a voltage at the input terminal thereof into the currentto be provided to the first semiconductor power transistor.
 16. Ahigh-frequency power amplifier circuit device according to claim 15,further comprising a second current source coupled to the input terminalof the second circuit.
 17. A high-frequency power amplifier circuitdevice according to claim 16, wherein the first semiconductor powertransistor is a field-effect transistor, and each of the firstsemiconductor transistor and the second semiconductor transistor isfield-effect transistor.
 18. A high-frequency power amplifier circuitdevice according to claim 17, wherein the current-voltage convertercircuit is a resistance.
 19. A high-frequency power amplifier circuitdevice according to claim 13, further comprising: a second semiconductorpower transistor; a second capacitor which is coupled to the secondsemiconductor power transistor via which a high frequency signal basedon an output signal of the first semiconductor power transistor isinputted to the second semiconductor power transistor; a thirdsemiconductor transistor that is arranged so as to form a current mirrorcircuit with the second semiconductor power transistor; and a secondbias circuit providing a current to the third semiconductor transistor.20. A high-frequency power amplifier circuit device according to claim19, wherein the second bias circuit generates a current according to avoltage at the input terminal of the second circuit as the current to beprovided to the third semiconductor transistor.
 21. A high-frequencypower amplifier circuit device according to claim 20, further comprisinga current-voltage converter circuit coupled between the output of thevoltage follower circuit and the input terminal of the second circuit.22. A high-frequency power amplifier circuit device according to claim21, wherein the current-voltage converter circuit is a resistance.
 23. Ahigh-frequency power amplifier circuit device according to claim 19,wherein the second bias circuit includes: a third circuit generating acurrent signal according to the control voltage; and a fourth circuithaving an input terminal which is coupled to the output terminal of thevoltage follower circuit and to which the current signal is suppliedfrom the third circuit, and an output terminal, and generating thecurrent to be provided to the second semiconductor transistor.
 24. Ahigh-frequency power amplifier circuit device according to claim 23,further comprising a first current-voltage converter circuit coupledbetween the output terminal of the voltage follower circuit and theinput terminal of the second circuit, and a second current-voltageconverter circuit coupled between the output terminal of the voltagefollower circuit and the input terminal of the fourth circuit.
 25. Ahigh-frequency power amplifier circuit device according to claim 24,further comprising a third current source coupled to the input terminalof the second circuit and a fourth current source coupled to the inputterminal of the fourth circuit.
 26. A high-frequency power amplifiercircuit device according to claim 25, wherein each of the firstcurrent-voltage converter circuit and the second current-voltageconverter circuit is a resistance.
 27. A high-frequency power amplifiercircuit device according to claim 19, wherein each of the secondsemiconductor power transistor and the third semiconductor transistor isa field-effect transistor.
 28. A high-frequency power amplifier circuitdevice according to claim 22, wherein each of the second semiconductorpower transistor and the third semiconductor transistor is afield-effect transistor.
 29. A high-frequency power amplifier circuitdevice according to claim 26, wherein each of the second semiconductorpower transistor and the third semiconductor transistor is afield-effect transistor.